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I have a huge liking for Eazy E's music, I'm abit more old school as I use to listen to Ice T, public enemy and NWA, alot of gangster rap but now I just listen to Nas, Jay z and afew old tracks from Big L and Tupac.

The villian is back, MC Ren bringing out a new album soon, I listened to the first two songs and there good. Mc ren will always go with lyrics over beat.

For GLOC-9 (or Aries Pollisco in real life), rap is an expression -- an expression of both his thoughts and emotions. A story of what he went through or is still going through now, especially of what he dreams of becoming in the not so distant future.

“The name Gloc-9 was given to me by a friend, Ronald Solanga of Death Threat,” according to the artist himself. “It was probably associated to me because of the way I rap -- the speed, the clarity of the words,” he added. Gloc-9 went on to share that, “It was when I heard the song Cold Summer Nights of Master Rapper Francis M., that I got inspired and decided to get into rapping.”

He has earned nominations for Favorite Male Recording Artist and Favorite Music Video (for the song Sayang) in the MTV Pilipinas Video Music Awards 2004, as well as for Best Rap Recording in the 17th Awit Awards.

With all the achievements he has earned, GLOC-9 cements his reputation as one of the Philippines' finest and fastest rappers.

Are there any J Dilla (see the screenname) fans around here? He wasn't really a rapper, though he was a member of Slum Village back in the day. He could rap, but he specialized in making beats, which were very much awesome. Could listen to his Donuts instumental album without break, and it has 31 tracks on it.

Immortal Technique is raw and a great lyricist, but there are times when I need to take a break from the conspiracy theories...on occasion.

This is funny, becuase I used to have really long arguments defending rap and hip hop when comparing it to other American music. It was actually easier than I thought sometimes, at least as counterpoints to what was being thrown at me.

I like what the OP is trying to do so I will actually put up an effort to break it down a little bit for people who actually wanted to give rap a chance but don’t know where to look because all they hear and see is the bullshit the radio stations and music video channels shove in our ears Heres a very small guide to help point you in the right direction.

Rap is brand new compared to a genre like rock n roll, and its not as wide but there still are a decent amount of niches in it. This is no official categorization, but this is how I view it and I don’t think you can go wrong with it. (and btw, this list is only a quick run down for anyone looking to get into it, its about the current people and its in NO WAY complete. There are a lot of people I didn’t mention that are really good):

Real Rap: okay everyone in this category has lyrical skill, even if they only concentrate on one subject or style of word play. These people actually worked hard at their craft, went to the studio, and basically it takes a lot of skill to do what they’ve done.

Culture/Politics/self-improvement/righteousness: These guys mainly focus on the bolded text above. They rap about current events, fucked up laws, and about struggles in life. Now I put emphasis on “mainly” because they sometimes dabble in the other below from time to time, but its still good.

Talib Kwali – this guy is really good. This is his genre all the way, and even though he rarely dabbles in other niche genres, you wont be bored.
Mos Def – One of the greats (in my book). My favorite album by him is “Black on Both Sides”. He really mixes it up in terms of style, and the majority of it is contained in this category. You’ll have fun listening to this album, and he sounds like he had fun creating it.

Lupe Fiasco – a new guy on the scene but with a refreshing sound, especially compared to all the trash that’s playing on the radio. If you can, check out “The Cool”. My favorite track is “Dumb it Down”, in a nutshell, he explains why theres so much shit out there right now, and affirms that he wont turn his music into shit just to sell a few more records. He’s pretty good and is definitely worth a listen.
Canibus** – Okay, this guy is one of the greatest lyricists to ever hold a microphone. His career is a tragedy, he really should have gone way farther than he did. He fits in this category and gangster rap, and you will be blown away by a lot of his work. His beats are pretty bad, but many people feel that was done intentionally to ruin his career – and it is ruined. Either way, listen to any of his freestyles, and on his albums check out “Channel Zero”, “Buckingham Palace”, or really almost anything. His lyrical skill and word play are insane. Please come back and comment if you do.

Nas**– My personal favorite MC. I put him in this category but really he could fit in just about anywhere because his content touches all bases and he can still be among the best in any genre. He has interesting metaphors and his song content can REALLY make you think about your life. His latest album is “Untitled” and it was excellent. Many people don’t like gangster rap, but this guy can still make it meaningful. “I gave you Power” is one of his most creative songs where he raps from the point of view of a gun that is tired of killing… This guy is extremely creative; the worst thing about him is his production/beats, but with his creative style, you most likely wont even mind.

Jay-z** – the best for last. When he says hes the master of all flows, hes not joking. I put him in this category, but he can really fit anywhere he wants, he talks about EVERYTHING. He is the most consistent, and he can come into anyone’s category and beat them at their game. His worst album imo was “Kingdom Come” and “Dynasty” but you really can’t go wrong with any of his albums they’re still really good. Listen to “Meet the Parents”, “Where you from”, “You Must Love Me”, omg theres so much. Please come back and post your opinion on those. Imo he is the best ever (nas is still my fav. Though), because he is the most complete.

Gangster Rap: okay, I know I know, this is the genre that gets the most hate. But its really not as bad as people make it seem. It can be fun to listen to and they still make good use of metaphors. These guys are still pretty damn good, and mostly everyone knows that its just music… MOST normal people anyways.

Jadakiss: This guy is fuckin’ nice. His metaphors and slick comments are really fun to listen to and he has some funny skits. His voice is also a big asset – and even though hes mostly a gangster rapper he’ll dabble a bit into Nas’ genre, and you wont get bored with his albums.

Beanie Sigel: He’s a beast, really aggressive, hardcore shit. You can tell hes not just making shit up either. Fun fact for those of you who don’t know, he battled Jadakiss twice and won both times. But, I still like Jadakiss better, his albums keep me more interested.

DMX: yeah, hes long gone and his career is over. BUT.. listen to his first two albums, they are incredible. And, he dropped them both in the same year – they both went over platinum. Hes definetly one of the best gangster rappers ever, and he probably has more content and substance than anyone else in here. Please, listen to the song “Damien” on his first album… (and the 2nd part of that is on his second album btw, excellent shit)

Fabolous: Yeah that’s how he spells his name lol. But hes also a beast. Hes quick and drops punchlines at you really fast, sometimes you’ll get a delayed reaction and realize what he just said and laugh about it. Sometimes the punch lines can get a bit old though.

Club music: This is the stuff that gets a lot of air time. I don’t listen to it much but when you’re in a club, yeah you’ll have fun with it. Im not even going to mention many of these guys here because you’re probably tired of hearing this shit on the radio anyway. I know I am, which is why I don’t waste my time listening to the stupid radio.

T.I. : Hes one of the few southern rappers that I take seriously. He has a good flow and his lyrics are on point. He dabbles between ganster rap and club music.

Ludacris: He used to be just a club song type of rapper but hes gotten WAY better. Hes been moving away from this category actually.

BULLSHIT RAP: Okay this stuff is straight up trash. I don’t even really want to even call it rap music. But, guess what? Its what these assholes are playing on the radio the majority of the time and its really what gives the entire rap genre a bad name. It takes little to no skill to be like these guys, most of them are really just gimics, or they came up because of their image (or both). I HATE THIS SHIT. Its like a rap version of bullshit pop music, stuff that people listen to for shits n giggles.

“soulja boi” – hopefully hes about to crash, I heard when he actually made an album it sold like 30k copies… What really gets to me is that he actually thinks hes good, and talks shit about Nas (of all people) and other REAL RAPPERS.

“chingy” – this guy is already done, but when he was around omg. They played his video all fuckin day. Talk about dumbing down society.

”TPain” – This guy is trash. He has no real talent, he just makes decent beats and uses voice distortion. Zero substance, no real lyrical skill, just trash.

You know what , fuck it pretty much ALL (Southern Crunk Music): most of this stuff is trash. Its just one chorous for the entire song over a beat with ridiculous bass. Its mostly played in clubs, but for some reason its been getting crazy radio play for the passed few years. Theres really no lyrical content and ZERO substance. Honestly, anyone can do this stuff.

This list was just a brief intro, theres way more than this, but if you didn’t know where to go or you didn’t know if this stuff had any real substance there you go. Please don’t base your opinion on the trash you hear on the radio, that stuff doesn’t give it its justice AT ALL. This genre can be really fun and a great genre to listen to if you give it a chance and know where to look. Hope you have fun - Scorpian

Now I respect Jay-Z as an artist and all, don't get me wrong, but the whole paying tribute to BIG by using a bajillion of his lines didn't float well with me.

Eminem? Whack. He had moderate skill back in the days of Infinite and the Slim Shady LP, but seriously, nowadays he's just purely trash.

Rakim is at the top of my favorite rappers, always has been and always will be. Beyond Rakim, my other favorites are kinda just lumped together in a random list.

A nice little website for the skeptics to check out is artofrhyme.com
A good selection of songs to check out on the AOR Radio, most of them reviewed relatively comprehensively under the New Joints category.

If anything, on the current playlist I'd recommend the skeptics to check out:

On a different note, People Under The Stairs is a pretty production heavy group worth checking out.
Guilty pleasures at the moment: Estell and Kanye - American Boy
Ya Boy - We Run LA (lol, this dude's from the bay, NorCal, but here he is repping LA)

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"You love the sounds that are coming out your speaker/ I spit rounds like a nine millimeter/"
-Talib Kweli

Nice to see you posting again SilentKnight. Been getting into some old school stuff like Rakim, KMD, A tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, etc. Just wondering around what year did Rakim really become popular? Also on Skate they labeled the song "know the ledge" as "Juice" which is correct?

Dr.dre and Snoop dogg? Don't these heavy hitters deserve some mention? They brought out the era of rap that I will never forget, same goes to Tupac. Still one of my favorites to this day is Still D.R.E, no sticks, no stem, no seeds oo that sticky icky. Also from the "new guard" im digging the game, especially after breaking out of fiddies circle. Most hip hop on the radio is pretty bad, because you'd never hear lupe on stations that play chris brown and his like.

In all honesty, I love classic hip hop, rather than the pure crap that plays now. Especially 90s things. Call me crazy, but I think those were the best beats of any songs. ^^ I really have to say this. I can't see intelligent rap because of everything I see now:

Birdwalk
Lolipop
and Stanky Legg, just to name a few. It's songs like these that make me disrespect hip hop all together, which is mainly the reason why I can't stand it. Other things I hate is the way they materialize women, and treat them badly, pure crap IMO, is all I can say.

My favorite rapper of all time has to be Eminem, sure he made some pretty stupid songs at times like Smack Dat. But he also had a lot of meaningful, and helpful songs, with a very nice flow, and some hot rhymes as well.

Hip Hop is pretty much dead as everyone says, I don't see why people try to "ressurect" it with stupid songs that get them no respect, with the exception of the people stupid enough to buy the CDs and put money in these rapper's pockets, honestly.

Also, I feel I have to say this. I am African American. I come to expect some kind of stupid comment like "Oh, you a cracker." or something like that from time to time. I just had to put that out there.

I'll get back to topic though, and say that you can find great rappers...

DMX
Mobb Deep
Xzibit
Big L
blah blah blah

lol backpacker, haven't heard that term kicked around in a long time

I actually don't see anything wrong with backpackers. If anything it's like, the reason why someone would adhere to being a backpacker so strongly is because he/she fails to see anything of true quality in the mainstream. If anything it makes you come to grips with the current state of hip hop and how much the culture has changed since the days of Kool Herc, EPMD, etc.

Hip Hop is like any genre out there in that you have to make an effort to find quality material.
For skeptical listeners, the underground hip hop scene is definitely a good gateway as it presents a dense collection of unique artists without having to sift through the T-Pain's and Soulja Boys.
Listening in to some of the better acts of the mainstream sometimes requires somewhat of a aesthetic appreciation of hip hop culture and the street life.

If you're looking to just drop by the local record store and pick up a record at random though:
Talib Kweli
Gym Class Heroes
Lupe Fiasco
Pharoahe Monch
The Roots
Common

__________________

"You love the sounds that are coming out your speaker/ I spit rounds like a nine millimeter/"
-Talib Kweli

Basically someone who listens solely to the underground to an over-zealous degree and exercises extreme bias against the mainstream.

In context it usually refers to a collective of people who act like they have touched upon everything there is to hip hop culture simply by delving into the independent labels, when in fact they haven't even gone so far as to trace rap music back to its roots and humble beginnings.

Either way, it's not a term for newcomers to worry about. Just listen to what you find appealing (be it Sage Francis, Deltron, etc.) and move on to mainstream or whatever when you're ready. Keep an open mind to suggestions and don't dismiss them before you've given them a shot.

__________________

"You love the sounds that are coming out your speaker/ I spit rounds like a nine millimeter/"
-Talib Kweli